Ex-cop’s defense fears impact of $27M settlement
MINNEAPOLIS >> An attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death asked the judge Monday to delay the trial, saying the announcement of a $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family could make a fair trial impossible.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson also raised the possibility of renewing his previously unsuccessful motion to move Derek Chauvin’s trial to another city.
“I am gravely concerned with the news that broke on Friday,” Nelson said, adding that the announcement “has incredible potential to taint the jury pool.”
Nelson also noted that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s son Jeremiah sits on the City Council that unanimously approved the settlement, and questioned the timing, though he said he was not making accusations. Keith Ellison heads the prosecution team and often has been present in the courtroom.
During a break in jury selection, Keith Ellison stopped at Nelson’s table and said: “Is there anything else anyone would like to not accuse me of?” Nelson looked at Ellison but did not reply.
Mayor Jacob Frey deferred questions about the timing of the settlement to City Attorney Jim Rowader, who declined to comment. Representatives for both said they were following the judge’s guidance to not comment on the criminal proceedings.
Prosecutor Steve Schleicher said the state had no control over Frey and the City Council, who announced Friday that Minneapolis had agreed to the settlement that Floyd family attorney Ben Crump called the largest pretrial settlement ever for a civil rights claim.
Absent a delay or change of venue, Nelson urged Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill to consider giving both sides extra strikes to remove potential jurors for possible bias, and to recall the seven jurors seated last week to ask if the settlement affected their view of the case.
But Schleicher said those jurors already promised they could decide the case based only on evidence presented at trial and urged the court to “take a step back” and determine whether there’s an actual problem.
“You would agree it’s unfortunate, right?” Cahill asked.
“It’s certainly not my preference, your honor,” Schleicher replied, adding that it was unclear whether the settlement news would “cut” in favor of the prosecution or the defense.
“The problem is, it cuts,” Cahill said.
Cahill agreed to consider the request for a delay, but didn’t think it would be appropriate to grant additional strikes to either side. He said he likely would recall the seven previously seated jurors for further questioning though he already instructed members of the jury pool to avoid all news coverage of the case.
He previously denied a request to move the trial, saying coverage of Floyd’s death was so pervasive that moving the trial was “unlikely to cure the taint of potential prejudicial pretrial publicity.”
Attorneys must settle on 12 jurors to deliberate and two alternates. At least three weeks have been set aside for jury selection.
Floyd, a Black man, was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond and led to a national reckoning on racial justice. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The first potential juror questioned Monday was quickly dismissed after volunteering that she’d heard about the settlement and presumed it meant the city didn’t feel it would win the civil case.
“When I heard that, I almost gasped at the amount,” she said, adding that she couldn’t promise she could disregard it.
Potential jurors questioned later didn’t mention hearing of the settlement, and neither attorneys nor the judge directly asked if they were aware of it.